Here are some tips for presenting to various audiences. The general tips are useful in all situations. In addition, if you are speaking to an audience about one of the specific subject areas below, please click on the appropriate link for specific tips.

Tips For Engaging Your Audience on Water Purification ServicesTell a Good Story.

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Mix facts with anecdotes, quotes and poetry.

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Be humorous and creative.

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Describe how drinking water flows from its source to the tap in your city.

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Give the history of one lake or stream in your area.

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Tell a relevant personal story about you, or your Great Aunt Flo.

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Connect the topic to your research cite so the audience learns about you.

Illustrate the Message. Audiences can lose interest quickly if overwhelmed with facts and figures. Visuals and metaphors help to get ideas across and enliven a presentation.

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Use slides, colorful graphs or cartoon overheads to highlight important points and to keep your audience awake and focused.

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Bring in models, toys, or "the real thing."

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Start the talk off with a glass of water to make the point about drinking water.

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Bring in two glasses of water, one clean, one polluted.

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Use objects as metaphors to elucidate concepts.

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Sponge: water absorption

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Strainer: filtration

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Antacid: acid neutralization

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Detergent: breaks down fats to illustrate how chemicals are broken down

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Kidney: toxin removal

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Use simple demonstrations or games.

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Impermeable surface demonstration: Bring soil, and a piece of glass to simulate a paved area. Pour water into the soil, then pour water over the glass to illustrate how the water runs off the glass.

Involve Your Audience. A good presentation keeps the audience engaged.

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Pose questions and get people to talk about their own experiences.

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Role-playing can be effective.

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Start off with a quiz: Where does your drinking water come from? How many of you know what causes outbreaks of pfisteria? How many of you would swim or fish in X (local) lake? Why not? What is thermal pollution? (Quizzes are a great way to loosen up the group but be sure to make it fun and not let anyone feel like they are foolish or have been put on the spot.)